Broken fences make Union County dog park unsafe place to play, regulars say

MOUNTAINSIDE — When the Echo Lake Dog Park opened more than a decade ago, it was heralded as the model for a new way for dogs to socialize and exercise. The New York Times called it “a sort of nudist colony for canines,” an oasis where dogs could frolic safely off of their leashes.

But as the dog park trend has taken off — there are now at least 85 in New Jersey, up from 15 in 2002 — Echo Lake has fallen into disrepair, despite numerous attempts by Union County to improve the facility.

Situated atop a hill in the scenic county park, the dog area looks like three acres of puppy paradise, complete with specialized water fountains and separate sections — added in 2009 — to keep apart small and large dogs, said Union County Director of Park Maintenance Michael Brennan.

But faulty or non-existent latches render the park’s two double-gate entrances useless. The fence separating the large and small dog sections is worn and broken, with sections that easily swing open. And two maintenance gates in the back corners of the park appear as if they were not properly built — the fences they span are at greatly differing heights, and the two sides of the gate fail to meet up, creating a gap that a medium-sized dog could easily slip through.

The park is surrounded on three sides by forest. The front entrance area leads to the parking lot. From there, it’s a short trip down the hill to Park Drive, a road parkgoers say gets extremely busy when locals use it as a shortcut to avoid a congested section of Route 22.

Park regulars have taken fence repair into their own hands, dragging logs from the forest and wedging them in the gaps, pushing cinder blocks against posts or tying together swinging gates with string from home.

Brennan said last week he said he would reach out to National Fence Systems and ask the contractor to make repairs as soon as possible.

He said he had not remembered hearing of the issue, though emails show it was mentioned alongside a number of other complaints last month, some of which Brennan did immediately rectify.

Bernard Fitzsimmons, a park regular, remembers a recent time when the double gates failed. He had just entered the first gate at the front entrance, and was removing the leash from his dog, when they were blindsided by a Labrador that burst through the gate and out into the parking lot.

“Just the other day, a dog got out the back,” said Janice Feldman, another regular. “And that could be dangerous because they run off into the woods.”

Feldman and her dog Shayna are among a group who meet at the park almost every day. On a brisk, windy day in late April, about a dozen of them were gathered there, gossiping while their dogs socialized and sniffed around.

The regulars said that though they are upset with the broken fences, they love the grounds and appreciate the work that maintenance crews regularly perform to keep them safe and clean.

“We have a beautiful dog park, so you hate to complain, but you want the dogs to be safe,” said Melina Tropeano, who was there with her dogs Popcorn and Rags.

Standing a few feet from a gate that was just blown open by a strong gust of wind, Fitzsimmons said, “It’s a real frustration to know they spent all this money on the park and they just didn’t do the job right when they built it.”

Brennan said that anyone who finds an issue in a county park can call the department at (908) 527-4900, submit a complaint to ucnj.org/parks or email info@ucnj.org.